Apologetic Armonty Bryant arrives at minicamp

BEREA -- Defensive end Armonty Bryant is in Browns rookie minicamp despite what happened last week in Ada, Okla., but on a bigger scale, Bryant's DUI conviction has given first-year head coach Rob Chudzinski a chance to lay down the law and let players know he plans to be fair but firm.

Bryant blew .098 after a traffic stop last Friday on the East Central University campus, less than a week after the Browns took him in the seventh round of the draft with the 217th overall pick. He pled no contest on Tuesday and was given a one-year suspended sentence.

Last October, Bryant pled no contest to a felony charge of selling marijuana to an undercover agent in a school zone.

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Chudzinski had a one-on-one with Bryant before the three-day rookie minicamp began. He said Bryant was very remorseful.

"It's a serious matter," Chudzinski said Friday after the first practice of minicamp. "Now that Armonty's gotten here, I had a chance to sit down with him and talk about my expectations and make those expectations clear with him. He understands me and what I expect from him and is ready to make amends.

"Time will tell. You have to give guys every chance, every opportunity, and I feel really good about the structure that we'll have around him to give him every chance. He'll be evaluated consistently and constantly just like all our players are, and time will tell."

First-round draft pick Barkevious Mingo, bubbly and relaxed, met with reporters when the Chudzinski press conference ended. Bryant waited off to the side for Mingo to finish then stepped into the circle of cameras, digital tape recorders and inquisitive reporters.

What a contrast between the two players. Here was Mingo, excited and eager to meet and exceed the expectations the Browns have for him as the sixth overall pick, and next came Bryant, very subdued and trying to make the team from a Div. II school while proving he won't be a problem ever again.

"I'm not going to go into detail with (the arrest), but I just made a stupid mistake at the time," Bryant said, speaking quietly. "Now I'm just going to let my actions speak for me.

"I was (worried). I'm just fortunate the Browns still have faith in me and hopefully I can win a spot on this 53-man roster. I apologized multiple times. Hopefully we can move forward and I can prove (to) them that I'm not that type of person."

Players are in shorts, jerseys and helmets in minicamp, where most, though not all, rookies look good. Bryant, though, did look big and smooth running drills with the other defensive linemen. He is wearing jersey "95," which hasn't been worn for an extended period since it housed Kamerion Wimbley from 2006-2009.

The Browns could have told Bryant "Don't bother coming to minicamp" and cut ties with him, thereby making him a free agent. Instead, they decided to give him the chance to prove his apology is sincere.

"We discussed all of the options," Chudzinski said. "We ultimately decided that we wanted bring him in, sit down and talk to him and that's the process we went through.

"I feel like we have a good support structure here. I think we have good guys in the locker room, some guys who are excellent mentors. You look at D'Qwell Jackson, Davone Bess and those guys; anybody that follows them and follows their example will learn how to be a professional. Ultimately, Armonty needs to show that he's going to be accountable and I expect that out of him."

Bryant said, 6-foot-4, 263 pounds, said he never got an offer from a Division I college.